Build your own, as featured at instructables!  I just couldn’t bear to put this in the Ulua category…

S/V Momentum aground on Waikiki reef.  Story here.

 
So beautiful!

Sea trials, Santa Cruz, earlier this year.

Mike and Manu.

Beveled splashguard, I can’t remember the type of wood.  Mike said this part took many, many hours.

Seats are fir.  ‘wales and much of the interior wood is Honduran mahogany, much more expensive than African, but probably works better.  Ring frames and bulkheads are built up from 3x marine ply, much beefier than in builder’s plans.  Iakos and other spars are also fir.

Bulkhead.  Wood cover conceals large plastic deck plate.  Note lack of fillets throughout.  There is no trim strip on the back edge of the cedar strip deck.

Weapons of choice.  Cool Lie-Nielson jointing plane.


Sweet little mouse plane with convex cutting/shaping blade, similar to those used by violin makers.

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I’m trying to get some more info and pics of this canoe, more anon.

A picture from last October, from Anchorage-based Chandler Boats Ulua project page.

Inwales

I covered starting the inwales in my last real post.  They are now glued in.  The outwales are also fabricated and waiting.

Scarfing ‘wale planks together.

Crude but effective scarfing jig.

Detail showing scarf joint of inwale, dry fit to interior prior to gluing.

Dry fit of inwales in interior.

Detail showing notches cut in bow area to accomodate bending of inwale.

‘Iakos

I had a lumber mill cut the planks for the ‘iakos from very thick African mahogonay and ash stock.  They really grumbled about doing the hardwood work, they seemed to think it was bad for their saw.  The results were very good, though, and I don’t think I could have done it myself on my cheap table saw.

Fitting up the sanded planks.

Setting up the ‘iako laminating jig.  The 2×2 and 2×4 blocks will be screwed to the strongback table with machine screws along a faired curve.

Laminating an ‘iako.  I had thought to do more of traditioinal Hawai’ian double-bend, but wasn’t sure how much it would spring back after gluing, so I went with the simple bend called for in the plans.

Boom

While I was in laminating mode, I decided to do the main section of the boom as well.  I had a lovely 18′ length of 3/4″ fir, and I ripped two planks out of it and laminated on a jig (again built on the strongback).  The boom-jaws still need to be made up and fitted.

Dry fitting the planks in the jig.

Lots and lots of clamps are needed to get a nice uniform joint.

Ama

I had purchased two blocks (4′ x 8′ x 4″) of yellow (probably the ‘bad’ kind) of urethane foam, and these had been taking up a lot of space for over a year.  I was also worried that they would be damaged by light.  As it turned out, they were already warped somewhat from just sitting on their edges.  So I decided to make up the ama as a little side project.

Above:  lofting the profile shape of the ama on a scarfed-up piece of 3/16″ ply.  I scarfed two 2′ x 8′ sections with fiberglass reinforcing of the joint, which may have been overkill.  The bow profile is left square as it will be hand shaped in the end.

Char holds the ama sheerweb.  This floppy piece of ply is then glued between the  blocks of foam, and then the shape is cut out with a handsaw.

Ama shaping in progress.  I am using only a handsaw, my Japanese pull saw and straight and flexible long sanding boards to do the shaping.

No pics, but I have put in the inwhales, laminated the boom, and laminated the iakos.  And made up the ply bulkheads and have all the lumber (I hope) for the seats, hiking seat, and some other fit-out bits.  So it’s not dead.

 The new goal is to be ready by June 22, Summer Solstice.  We’ll see.

Orchid Outriggers is a tour operator on Morro Bay on California’s central coast.  They also build the outriggers they use for the tours.

The Hawaiian term for a 2-seat canoe is koholu’a. The Orchid Outrigger is a modern fiberglass composite translation of a design developed and perfected perhaps a thousand years ago. It was not our intent to improve or modernize this classic design. Hawaiian canoe builders developed and refined the small outrigger canoe to a state of functional perfection long before Cook would “discover” their islands. It is hoped the Orchid Outriggers’ Koholu’a will be seen as a humble evolution of a small Pre-contact Hawaiian outrigger canoe with all the utility, seaworthiness, and graceful harmony of the original.

If I’d known about these, who knows, I might never started on the Ulua.  I’m not sure what they weigh, or cost, and they can’t be sailed.  I had considered a Huki OC-1, but they only carry one person and are quite expensive.   These look like a better choice for most tourers, and a very attractive alternative to the ubiquitous roof-top kayak.

http://www.orchidoutriggers.com

But here we go, anyway…. 

This post is simply the best because it demonstrates the most significant achieved milestone in the Ulua canoe-building project, and has a great pic my girls and the hull off the molds.

OK, there you are.  If readers have a different opinion, please comment!

1 Jan 09 update:  See all the submissions to Simply the Best here.

Reader Gord Caruk responded to the Uluas of the World post with a tale of his own unique progress

Hello,

I figured that after seeing your page I would send along evidence of another Ulua. Earlier this year, I had bought a model kit of a traditional canoe. I was going to put this together over the summer while on vacation at a couple of cottages. However, I wasn’t happy with the scale, and figured I’d scale the model up a bit to be about 30″ long. The idea was to have a wooden model to ‘display’ in my office. I had bought Gary Direking’s book, so I figured if I’m going to scale the kit up and basically do a scratch built model, why not just build a model of Ulua. So that’s what I did. It is a 1/8 scale model of a 20′ Ulua. I’ve attached a couple pics. It is done in a wood called ‘makore’, with a few bits of fir, sapela, and bloodwood for accents.

I do intent to build a full size Ulua over the winter and have been agonizing over whether to use the cedar strip construction that most Ulua’s (including yours) have been built with, or to use the fabric covering over a stick from that I’ve built a couple of canoes with. The canoe in the 3rd attached photo is 13 lb. Building Ulua this way would be about 27 lb. for the hull, ama, and iakos. I’m not sure whether I’d be able to use a sailing rig on it though, because I wonder about the strength of the lightweight hull, and it being so light, maybe it would just be blown over. Regardless I intend to rig a trolling motor, but I do like the idea a sail. Assuming I do the lightweight version, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

So there you have it. One (little) Ulua now, and another full sized one in by the spring.

Gord

Fabric-on-stick canoe (not an Ulua) illustrating ultralightweight building.

Nice work!  We’re eagerly awaiting further reports.

Below:  rocking the cradle.  I tilted the cradle this way and that and glassed one side at a time to minimize dripping, which was such a big problem on the outer hull sides which were nearly vertical.  Also, I was much more stingy with the first coat, and even went over with the spreader after I was done and scraped and discarded excess.  The inside only gets two coats, as opposed to three on the outside, and I think that with a cabinet scraper and a single treatement with 120 grit in the RO sander I will declare victory.

First side (port) done.  The outside hull is taped up with plastic dropcloth for protection.

Almost done with starboard side.  It is very dramatic when the glass goes transparent, exposing the wood.

Wet-down of interior after all patching, filling, and sanding to 120 grit.  This raises the grain, and final sanding at 120 will happen tomorrow.  The red material in the ends is fairing compound used to form big fillets around the internal stems, and will not be visible when complete, as the ends are enclosed by the decks and bulkheads.

Over the weekend I ripped temporary gunwhales for the Ulua (and got some practice scarfing) and installed spreader sticks to keep the hull in the proper shape while glassing the inside and fitting the decks and other bits.  We also squeezed in a backyard project, making a tree-perch per Charlotte’s concept and specifications.

The Ulua Hawaiian sailing outrigger.  Over 100 sets of plans purchased…  how many built/building? 

I will update and add to this this as I find out more.  Here is what I know today.  If you are building an Ulua, drop me a line!

1. Gary Dierking himself – multiples, including this fiberglass one for some clients.  Also a white one and a red one?
2. Me   as you have been reading all along, I hope!  A work in progress.  Standard 18′ length, will rig to sail, possibly rig with ‘broken wing’ for sailing.
3. Ted Hardie.  Standard 18′ foot length, located Big Island, Hawaii.  No manu, currently not rigged for sailing, but he says he has plans. More here.
4. Kent Robertson.  Location: Kauai, North Carolina.  Beautiful construction, damaged during shipping to Hawaii, status unknown.
5. Dan St. Gean.   2 hulls built (?) one as a  21′ tri.  Manu per Gary’s instructions.  Also see here.  He has also been helpful with some advice.
6. David Lowry.  Washington state.  Stretched design to 24′.  Sailing with rig from previous boat on lakes of Eastern Washington.  We have corresponded, and I thank him for his help. 
7. Ben Corbett’s 24′ (7.5M) stretch Ulua equipped with a paddle racing style ama.
8. Adam Hussey.  Sailing rig, standard length, Kauai, Hawaii.
9. Michael Litter.  SF bay area.  24-foot stretch.   We had a few emails early in the project, and I see he has a photo of his hull on Gary’s site, otherwise I don’t know his progress.
10. Paul Luginbuhl.  Standard length, in Switzerland?
11. Bill Dochnahl.  27 footer under construction (?)  Pic from Gary’s site. More here.